Parking lot threatens adult club's license

Parking-lot work at the Silver Dollar is behind schedule due to inclement weather.

Silver Dollar Lounge employees will get to keep dancing despite the venue’s close call with a deadline that could threaten its business license. The Liberty County Board of Commissioners granted lounge owner Sun Cha Seales a second extension on parking-lot improvements required at the Highway 196 site. The Heritage Bank initially issued an irrevocable letter of credit for $81,774 on Feb. 18, 2011, to guarantee the work’s completion within one year. Drainage, grading, piping and landscaping are among the work required as a condition of the business license. Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission zoning specialist Alissa Davis requested a six-month extension for the work on Seales’ behalf and explained that financial obstacles had prevented Seales from having the work done earlier. Transportation and land use planner Rachel Hatcher presented Tuesday in Davis’ absence, and she requested an additional extension because the work is not likely to make the Aug. 14 deadline due to inclement weather. “The work is under way, which includes detention or retention — that’s currently incomplete — catch basins, the GDOT permit for that is pending, so that’s incomplete, and piping, which there is lot of work going on today, but that’s incomplete as well,” Hatcher said. “The grading for the pond is not initiated at this time. The asphalt is not initiated at this time, and the landscaping has not been installed.”Hatcher showed photos taken Monday that do indicate the pond is under way and said an inspector confirmed that the pond has been dug but needs more work. A memo from the LCPC to the board included a letter from accountant Larry Golden, who represents Seales, and an estimate from J. Hiers Company dated March 26 that shows the work totaling $95,910 with a signature of approval from Golden. Golden spoke on Seales’ behalf and presented a letter from the bank offer-ing an additional 60-day extension to the letter of credit. Commissioner Marion Stevens Sr. said the business had ample time to complete the work and that a 30-day extension should suffice. “I’m not disagreeing with you,” Golden said. “We’ve been involved with this for the last probably 60 days. I think we’ve moved a long way in 60 days — a lot further than we could before, and we’ll move it on through to completion. We just need a little more time to do it.”Seales already has invested about two-thirds of the cost of the project, he added. Stevens moved to extend the deadline another 60 days to ensure completion and reduce the letter of credit to the amount of outstanding work. In other business, the board also: • authorized Chairman John McIver to negotiate with solid waste services to coordinate trash collection for a small pocket of residents near Highway 17 and Barrington Ferry Road just outside of Riceboro city limits.• approved a rezoning petition for a property near Midway to be changed from R-3 (multi-family dwelling) to AR-1 (agriculture residential district). • approved a request to amend a previous conditional use authorization to stipulate that the conditional use, which authorizes the operation of a body shop off of Wright’s Old Lake Lane, is transferrable to other owners. The previous authorization specified that the use only was granted to Ronald Wright, who petitioned so his family may inherit and maintain the business should he no longer own the land.